Bangkok is certainly a modern city with many skyscrapers and extensive shopping malls, but some descriptions of it as a concrete jungle are a trifle harsh. It is definitely the country’s most built-up city but there are a few oases of green within the city boundaries, and just a short ride outside the Thai capital is a whole world of eastern promise just waiting to be discovered. The Thais call Bangkok ‘Krung Thep’, which translates as the City of Angels. It is the economic heart of Thailand, has a population of over seven million, and draws millions of tourists each year from all over the world. The city has a massive park in its midst called Lumphini Park – Bangkok’s own equivalent of New York’s Central Park – and is a popular destination for many locals and tourists.

Canals criss-crossed the city known as the ‘Venice of the East’ in the mid-19th century well before the invention of the internal combustion engine and concrete allowed the building of roads and highways. Just a short ride in a boat down the waterways and you’ll be transported away from the hustle and bustle of modern life into a sample of often unseen Thailand.